Selwyn Times: August 02, 2016

Kea (Nestor Notabilis)

Kea (Nestor Notabilis) 20 Tuesday August 2 2016 SELWYN TIMES Gardening Time to dethatch your lawn EARLY AUGUST is the time to attack the thatch on your lawns. Thatch is caused by several factors, including grass type, excessive watering, soil compaction, high or low soil pH,or overuse of fertiliser and pesticides. Remove a core of soil from the lawn with a trowel or shovel and measure the depth of the thatch, which is the layer of dead grass above the soil line. A layer that’s 1cm to 2.5cm thick can be removed with a stiff lawn rake. Deeper layers may require a power rake. The best time to de-thatch is just before the grass begins a period of active growth, which is usually early spring. For lawns with more than an 3cm of thatch, power rakes or vertical mowers will need to be used and can be hired. Mow the lawn a little lower than usual. If needed, water it to moisten the soil. If you use a thatching rake, pull the blade-like tines across the lawn, cutting through the thatch. Work in sections, then remove the debris. If you re using a power rake or vertical mower, adjust the cutters to slice just through the thatch layer. Check cutter depth after the first metre. Run the machine in parallel rows over the lawn and then again at 90 deg to the first pass. Remove debris with a lawn rake. Over-seed with a goodquality grass seed to improve the lawn’s health, vigour, and appearance. Other tips for early August EDIBLES • Dig over vacant areas and leave for frosts to pulverise the lumps. • Apply lime to vegetable garden plots where green crops were dug to increase worm activity. • Spread a general fertiliser on areas to be planted next month. • Check peach, apricot and nectarine buds frequently. Spray with copper before bud burst to protect against curly leaf. Same spray for bladder plum. • In warm areas begin sowing in a protected position lettuces, peas, silver beet and spinach. • Sow outdoors hardy herbs, tender herbs under glass. • In warm areas or towards the end of the month sow under glass courgettes, eggplants, peppers and tomatoes. • Plant out asparagus, globe artichokes, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, onions and silver beet. • Divide and replant rhubarb. • Fertilise citrus generously towards the end of the month. ORNAMENTAL • Plant deciduous trees, shrubs. • Complete pruning of roses and cutting back of all perennials. • Complete mulching garden beds. GENERAL • Slugs and snails abound, spread slug bait • Ensure all-seasons oil and copper sprays have been applied to all fruit trees and roses. HEALTHY: Produce the perfect lawn, dethatch it in early August. Urban Section It’s time to grow Decking Retaining Wall Timber Landscaping Timber Trellis Residential Fencing Poles and Piles H3 and H4 Timber Dressed Timber HOURS Mon - Fri: 7am - 5pm Saturday: 8am- 12pm Weedons Ross Rd to Rolleston We are here Berketts Rd Jason Pester 1304 Main South Road, Christchurch jason@cthl.co.nz P 03 3477465 F 03 3477032 Trents Rd Main South Rd / SH1 Your Local Timber Merchant Selwyns best read local newspaper – with the biggest circulation in Selwyn Delivered FREE to 18,300 homes weekly across the entire Selwyn district The magazine for gardeners who like to get their hands dirty bigger from August 22 Additional copies available at pick up points across Selwyn. Selwyn Community Newspaper Times A Christchurch Star Company

SELWYN TIMES Tuesday August 2 2016 21 THINGS I WISH I’D KNOWN SOONER Diana Noonan checks out what gardeners from all walks of life wish they’d known a whole lot earlier. From: Diana, rural gardener, Tamahere, Hamilton For more gardening inspiration, pick up the latest issue of kiwigardener GARDEN CLUBS Join a garden club! I wish I’d done this 30 years ago. It would have saved me a lot of time, effort and money! Garden club members cross many age ranges, they all garden in different circumstances, and they have specialist knowledge about their own areas of gardening interest. ALSTROMERIA I wish I had learnt earlier that you should pick alstromeria from the base of the plants. It would have saved me having to cut off the dead stalks later. WEED MATTING I thought all weed matting was beneficial but it’s not. The thick, canvas type starves the soil of nutrients and air. My next project is to remove a large area of this in order to develop a soil medium in which plants will grow and thrive. EXCLUSIVE CONTENT FROM THE NEW KIWI GARDENER $5.90 incl. GST ISSN 2423-0219 We’re for every gardener kokedama CrAzy for Make your own Japanese strIng garden The striking starling A wily bAckyArd compAnion Your guide to growing through winter A southern stumpery Invercargill’s wooden retreat Winter delight sasanqua camellias Issue 446 | July 25 – August 7, 2016 New-age aubergine from purple and black, to white and yellow Alstromeria Alstromeria flowers bloom during late spring or early summer and prefer full sun and well-drained soils. When planting, incorporate compost and wellrotted animal manure into the soil. Old flower stems should be snipped off at the base. In early spring, mulch around, but not over, the plants. Note: not all alstromeria are created equal. In fact, some are considered pest plants. Always source your plants from a reputable supplier. From: Kathleen and Linda, Rangiora INVASIVE! Never plant horseradish – ever! Just buy it in those little pots from the supermarket. And think twice before propagating something found growing in the wild – it is likely to take over your garden. WHOOPS! Ask a more experienced gardener before you try growing freesias from a cutting! Horseradish Horseradish is an easy-to-grow, deeply rooted herb, well noted for its tendency to become invasive. When dug, its crisp taproot breaks and any fragment left in the soil soon develops into an individual plant. Grow horseradish in its own individual container and stand the pot on an inorganic surface, such as concrete, so the roots do not find their way into the garden. FROM AUGUST 22, THE NEW KIWI GARDENER WILL OFFER TWICE AS MUCH CONTENT AND BE ON SALE EVERY MONTH. iT’S aLL parT of ThE biGGEr picTurE You will have noticed there have been some changes here at Intelligro. The reconfiguration of our site is still continuing, and with that brings a bit of disruption to our entrance. We are definitely still open and our brand new retail area is fully operational. Just follow the big green LANDSCAPE CENTRE signs as you come in. Please take care as you enter Intelligro, the drive is being worked on and it does require some “give way” and courteous driving. Please reduce your speed and be wary of heavy machinery and other vehicles. LET’S GET GardEninG INTELLIGRO OFFERS: 3 Expert gardening advice 3 High quality products 3 South-Hort growing mixes 3 VIP rewards 3 Buy in-store and online 3 Handy delivery service For more information, check out our website: www.igro.co.nz or visit our facebook page: www.facebook.com/igro.co.nz We thank you for your patience and understanding as our work continues. Many thanks The Intelligro Team 1394 Main South Road, RD7 Weedons www.igro.co.nz | Phone 03 347 9415